Members of the Forum House on 55 Broad Street pose with Program Director Susan Beckwith (middle) and Senior Employment Coordinator Sue Smith (far Right) at the House’s 25th anniversary celebration. (Photo by Peter Francis)
WESTFIELD – A scene reminiscent of a summer block party began at around noon at the 55 Broad Street location of the Forum House, a “clubhouse” for Westfield residents suffering from mental illnesses, which turned 25 years old yesterday.
While a crowd of the facility’s patrons gathered to eat, drink, and be merry, the event served as a perfect opportunity for the Forum House to give an inside look at the current state of the treatment of mental health issues.
“This is a vocational and educational rehabilitation program for adults with mental illnesses,” said Sue Smith, senior employment coordinator for the facility, whose members suffer from such conditions as bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and other mood disorders. “We work to help people get back to school and back to work.”
“The ultimate goal for us is to get people off benefits and to become self sufficient,” added Susan Beckwith, the house’s program director. “We’ve taken and helped people from nearby homeless shelters, and seven of our members are now going to college, at Westfield State University and Holyoke Community College.”
As dozens of the Forum House’s patrons lined up to get food, the House’s directors spoke of the power of the program, which is run through a Springfield-based organization called Human Resources Unlimited.
“One member just got his trucking license,” Beckwith said, beaming with pride. “Two years ago, he was homeless. Now he’s looking at buying a home for him and his son.”
Forum House Senior Employment Coordinator Sue Smith has a conversation with House member Micheal Turner at the Forum House’s 25th anniversary celebration Thursday (Photo by Peter Francis)
Smith said that House has managed to help between roughly 1,000 members since it opened in 1988, and welcomes between 50 and 60 members a day.
It currently aids 300 full time members, and receives about 150 members a month.
According to Smith, members often depart for a time and return later, like one 49-year-old woman who recently returned to the area after living in Alabama for the last few years.
She credits The Forum House with supporting her with all aspects of her life, from helping her raise her two children, to aiding her return to school.
“For me, it has provided life,” she said. “There’s no stigma here. We’re actual humans with thoughts and feelings.”
“It’s an equal opportunity club. The members and staff are all equal here,” she said. “You can maintain your life.”
Smith believes that it is these people who symbolize everything the Forum House is about.
“It’s a members-run clubhouse that helps them (members) get ready for the responsibility of a job,” she said.
Beckwith added that the House also doubles as one of two food banks in the city, which anyone can go to, along with a social component.
“Tanglewood, the beach, Red Sox games,” she said. “Our primary push is to get people into the community.”
Smith also said that the Forum House works with local businesses to help its members find gainful employment, with local companies such as BHN, Creative Machining and Molding, O’Connell Plus Shell, Whip City Candle, and the YMCA hiring Forum House members.
“Some (of our members) may never get off disability, but a lot can,” Smith said. “We tell some of our members ‘You may have a disability, but it’s not the end of the world’. Just like someone who has epilepsy, they learn to manage it.”
“There are 35 programs statewide similar to the Forum House,” said Margaret Jordan, director of mental health services for Human Resources Unlimited. “We work with an empowerment model, focusing on capabilities and not on illnesses.”
HRU operates six facilities in western Mass., with two new programs now operating in Holyoke and Pittsfield.
“This kind of model focuses on rehabilitation,” Jordan said. “We focus on talents and strengths.”
